Methods of teaching by telephone including using a language laboratory

ABSTRACT

A method of teaching which involves communicating a pupils&#39;&#39; exercise by telephone tape recorder to a teacher, recording the pupil&#39;&#39;s exercises along with the teacher&#39;&#39;s corrections, and returning the teacher&#39;&#39;s recording to the pupil.

United States Patent 1 Ottassi [451 July 10,1973

[ 1 METHODS OF TEACHING BY TELEPHONE INCLUDING USING A LANGUAGELABORATORY [76] Inventor: Bachir Lahlou Ottassi, 26 E. 91st St.,

Apt. 3D, New York, N.Y. 10028 4/1951 Frost 35/8 A Primary ExaminerWm. H.Grieb Att0rneyJacob I. Kollin [22] Filed: June 14, 1971 [21] Appl. No.:153,016 [57] ABSTRACT {g g' 'i A niethod of teaching which involvescommunicating a pupils exercise by telephone tape recorder to a Fleld ofSearch l '0 A, C teacher, recording the pupils exercises ,along theteachers corrections, and returning the teachers re- [56] ReferencesCited cording to the pup UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,199,226 8/1965 Joslow35/35 C 4 Claims, 1 Drawing Figure AUDIO RERECORDING RECORDED TEXTSPICTURES BY TEACHER EXERCISES WITH CORRECTIONS STUDY PUPIL SENDIND TOPUPIL FOR FURTHER STUDY TELEPHONING EXERCISES LEARNED RE-STUDY TEACHER'SBY RECORDING PUPIL DEVICE METHODS OF TEACHING BY TELEPHONE INCLUDINGUSING A LANGUAGE LABORATORY GENERAL INTRODUCTION Why have traditionalmethods of language teaching failed? Why have many students spent yearsstudying such and such a language, without being able to expressthemselves correctly in this language? The reason is that traditionalmethods have forgotten that language is above all a means ofcommunication, and that in order to learn a language, the first thing isto learn to speak. The written language occupies a place that issecondary with respect to the spoken language, but the most frequenterror committed in the traditional teaching of a second language was toteach on the basis of the written language in order to Teach the studentto speak! Do we not first learn to speak and then to write? This is whymodern linguistics gives priority to the spoken form, and provides uswith new and much more effective means. We will therefore ask the pupilto write only after knowing that he can speak.

Teaching machines, when properly used, are very effective means forteaching languages. Professor Theodore Mueller of the University ofAkron writes:

Machines have been used to change the behavior of animals. Pigeons havelearned to play ping-pong and rats have been taught to push buttons ormake use of bars. In these experiments, these animals learned to behavein a manner very different from their habitual conduct. They acquiredthis manner of acting by a conditioning called OPERATIVE CONDITIONING.The acquisition of a new method of behavior, could be one definition ofthe expression leaming a foreign language.

The student must acquire the patterns of the foreign language, and beable to make use of them as conditioned reactions to certain stimuli.Speaking a language can therefore be considered as a form of behavior,acquiring different habits. If animals without intelligence can changetheir behavior by'means of OPERATIVE CONDITIONING, human beings evenmore so can acquire new habits by means of similar methods.

Therefore, by using machines, and yet giving primordial place to man andto human contact, I am adapting to the teaching function, the methodswhich I will set forth below. I have thought that teaching, as Iconceive of it, could be available to everyone: To the handicappedstudent as well as to others, rich or poor. I believe that in our time,and in the world in which we live, there is no time to be lost.(Transportation, for example). We have need of a School at home, and Ibelieve that the methods which I propose will meet these needs.

Accordingly, I have provided several methods of teaching by telephone,including the use of a language laboratory, which are described below.It is to be understood, however, that my invention is not limited to theexamples described, or to the teaching of Ianguages, but said methodsmay equally well be employed in teaching numerous other subjects, andthat various changes and modifications may be made in the detailsthereof without departing from the spirit and scope of i TRANSMITTINGSOUNDS OR WORDS. A. TEACH- ING ANY LANGUAGES BY TELEPHONE AND ANSWERINGMACHINE (OR TELEPHONE ANY DEVICE FOR RECORDING AND (OR) TRANSMIT- TINGSOUNDS OR WORDS This teaching of languages by audio-visual method can bebased either on a dialogue or on language exercises called PATTERNDRILLS.

A-I Language teaching based on:

DIALOGUE a. Materials used 1. By the pupil the pupil will have a picturebook a tape the telephone Tape (or disc preferably tape). Each lesson isbased on a dialogue between two or three persons speaking in thelanguage which the pupil proposes to study; this dialogue is recorded ontape. On this tape are also recorded phonetic exercises, questionsraised by the teacher which the pupil is to answer, and, if necessary,explanations. Each picture in the book is matched by a semantic unitwhich is the oral expression thereof.

Picture book (a picture belongs with each semantic unit on the tape)Each picture is matched by a Text in the mother tongue of the pupil inthe language which he proposes to learn.

EXAMPLE:

for a pupil learning French, for example.

Voila M. X.

(Here is Mr. X.)

The telephone. We will see below how it is used in:

How the pupil is to proceed" 2. By the teacher The teacher will have:

a telephone a telephone answering machine or any other device which canrecord and (or) transmit sound or words, and which can be connected tothe telephone.

b. How the pupil is to proceed.

Assimilation of the lesson: the pupil will listen to the lesson severaltimes, following the pictures with his eyes (picture book tape); he willgradually familiarize himself with the pronunciation.

In a second stage he will try to understand the lesson without callingon the translation (he will look at the translation only if heencountersdifficulty). The pictures must be suggestive and correspond toa single situation. The sound unit will aid enormously in comprehensionby rhythm, intonation, etc.

In a third stage, hence after audition, repetition and comprehension,the pupil will try to recapture the dialogue himself, and to memorizeit.

Exercises: the student will do all the exercises proposed by the teacherand recorded on the tape. For this he will use:

the telephone (because in a first stage the spoken language is givenpriority) and he will do all the exercises orally by telephone.Everything that he does by telephone (after dialing the number of histeacher) will be recorded on the answering service machine (or any otherdevice recording and (or) emitting sounds or words and connected to theteacher's telephone).

c. How the teacher is to proceed.

Everything said by the pupil over the telephone was recorded on hisanswering service machine (or any other device recording and (or)emitting sounds or words) and connected to the telephone.

He will listen attentively to everything said by the pupil. The teachercan record what was said by the pupil, as is, on a magnetic tape,retaining the mistakes of all types (pronunciation, comprehension,etc.). He will send this tape to the pupil, with addition of his owncomments and advice. The teacher can thus, if he sees fit, reproduce ona sheet of paper everything said by the pupil (reproducing faults of alltypes). He can underline the faults, explain the points of grammar orstyle (this will depend on the level of the pupil, if the pupil can readat this point.

He will then send to the latter:

1. The pupils text and the standard correction plus comments (tape) 2.The pupils text plus standard correction (on a sheet) A-ll Languageteaching based on:

PATTERN DRILLS In order to learn the oral language and acquire grammar,the teacher will use Pattern Drills.

a. Materials used l. By the pupil the pupil willhave: telephone picturebook tape Telephone: we will see below how it is used in How the pupilis to proceed. Picture book: Each. picture will be matched by a semanticunit which is the sonic expression thereof. Each picture will beaccompanied by a text in the mother tongue of the pupil, and in thelanguage which he proposes to learn.

EXAMPLE:

Jacques donne un boite a Pierre Jacques gives a box to Pierre Tape ordisc (preferably tape). On this tape are recorded the pattern drillswhich the pupil is to do. Each picture in the book is matched by a soundunit. The tape also contains the instructions to be followed phonetics,etc.

2. By the teacher The teacher will have:

telephone answering service machine (or any other device recording and-(or) emitting sounds or words) How the pupil is to process.

Assimilation of the lesson:

Example: look at the picture and listen to the matching sound (picturein the book, sound on tape) use translation in case of difficultyrepetition memorization Jacques donne la boite a Philipps translation.

(Jacques gives Philippe the box) In a second stage he will do theexercise proposed to him by the tape without the picture book. He willdo this exercise by telephone (different types of pattern drills:repetition, substitution, transformation, expansion, etc.). Take thefollowing example (pupil having learned the meaning of Jacques donne laboite a Philippe and having repeated it): the teacher can ask the pupilto substitute la chaise (the chair) for la boite (he will previouslyhave given the instructions to follow in the pupils language. The pupil,making use of the telephone will say:

Jacques donne la chaise a Philipps instead of Jacques donne la boite aPhilippe.

His reply is immediately recorded on the answering service machine (orany other device recording and (or) transmitting sound or words, andwhich can be connected to the telephone) of the teacher.

The pupil will also have various exercises of phonetics, repetition,etc., on tape and for these also he will use the telephone.

c. How the teacher is to proceed.

The teacher will listen on his answering machine (or any other devicerecording and (or) transmitting sound or words and which can beconnected to the telephone) to everything the pupil has said (answers toexercises, patterns, pronunciation, etc.). He will record everything thepupil has said with all faults committed, on a tape, he will add his owncomments and the correct responses on a sheet. He can also add (thisdepending on the level of the pupil) the ansers of the pupil, faultsunderlined the proper answers. He will send all this to the pupil.

Example of pattern drill: answer the questions according to the modelModel: Quest-ce que cest? (chapeau) (What is this, a hat) Cest unchapeau (it is a hat) 1. a. Quest-ce que cest? (appartement) (apartment)b. Pupil telephone c. Teacher, Cest un appartement 2. Quest-ce que cest?(camion) (truck) b. Pupil telephone c. Teacher, Cest un camion Havingthus described my invention, what I claim and desire to protect byLetters Patent of the United States of America is:

l. The method of teaching at home providing a pupil with a series ofaudio-recorded exercises and a series of matching pictures and printedtexts corresponding to the audio-recorded exercises, studying of theexercises by the pupil, communicating by the pupil of the exerciseslearned by the pupil to a teacher, recording of the pupils, exercises bythe teacher on a teachers tape, rerecording by the teacher, on anothertape, of the exercises and the teachers corrections and sending thererecorded tape to the pupil.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the step of communicating involvestelephoning.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein the step of comm unicating involvesrecording.

4. The method according to claim 1, further comprising providing thepupil by the teacher of a written record of said re-recorded exercisesincluding the corrections by the teacher.

1. The method of teaching at home providing a pupil with a series ofaudio-recorded exercises and a series of matching pictures and printedtexts corresponding to the audio-recorded exercises, studying of theexercises by the pupil, communicating by the pupil of the exerciseslearned by the pupil to a teacher, recording of the pupil''s, exercisesby the teacher on a teacher''s tape, re-recording by the teacher, onanother tape, of the exercises and the teacher''s correCtions andsending the rerecorded tape to the pupil.
 2. The method of claim 1wherein the step of communicating involves telephoning.
 3. The method ofclaim 1 wherein the step of communicating involves recording.
 4. Themethod according to claim 1, further comprising providing the pupil bythe teacher of a written record of said re-recorded exercises includingthe corrections by the teacher.